This is a very special book. It does not bring you new ideas that may be outdated in a few years from now. It brings you the 20 best articles ever published about entrepreneurship and small business. They have borne the test of time, and are still relevant and valuable. They really are the Keystones of Entrepreneurship Knowledge. With this book the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) celebrates its 50th anniversary. The ICSB is the major worldwide organisation bringing together people and organisations that are committed to the advancement of entrepreneurship and small business. Our membership is made up of researchers, policymakers, educators and service providers. Apart from their common interest and knowledge in entrepreneurship, ICSB members have a strong desire to share their knowledge with others. This book is an example of the type of products and services we strive to produce. It provides us an opportunity to achieve the ICSB mission: to share global knowledge with our growing global network.

The book provides an overview of developments in the field of entrepreneurship education, with special reference to global perspectives on innovations and best practices, as well as research in the emerging economy context. It focuses on various experiments in curriculum design, review and reform in addition to the innovative processes adopted for developing new content for entrepreneurship courses, in many cases with an assessment of their impact on students’ entrepreneurial performance. Further, it discusses the pedagogical methods introduced by teachers and trainers to enhance the effectiveness of students’ learning and their development as future entrepreneurs. It explains the various initiatives generally undertaken to broaden the scope of entrepreneurship education by extending it beyond regular students and offering it to other groups such as professionals, technicians, artisans, war veterans, and the unemployed. The book is a valuable resource for researchers and academics working in the field of entrepreneurship education as well as for trainers, consultants, mentors and policy makers.

Traditionally, the study of entrepreneurial behavior focuses on such factors as (i) the personality characteristics that distinguish the entrepreneur from non-entrepreneur and (ii) demographic characteristics such gender, age, familiar antecedents and education. With particular respect to investigating the development, acquisition, and dissemination of entrepreneurial skills and behaviors, the authors focus on the university environment, as a locus of research and innovation, where students are exposed to a wide variety of influences that are enhanced by a high degree of connectivity. The underlying theme of this volume is to develop our understanding of the sociology of student entrepreneurial behavior and in doing so attempt to synthesize literature investigating individual talent with the literature on concurrent knowledge sourcing in the pursuit of entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, the authors investigate the degree to which access to diverse knowledge (in addition to such psychological characteristics and tolerance of ambiguity and risk taking) influences the nature and probability of entrepreneurial success. Moreover, they explore the role of social media and social networking in facilitating access to distributed and disparate information and knowledge. Their research addresses such timely questions as: Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? How can higher education best stimulate the creation of firms emanating from young and smart minds in colleges and universities? What is the value of MOOCs for frequent, early, and “thick” communication among the various specialties needed to accomplish entrepreneurial projects? How do we know whether social media affect students’ responses to new knowledge and new ideas? To what extent do educational practices affect racial and ethnic differences in student entrepreneurship? What is the role of the indigenous minority student entrepreneur in establishing high-technology firms? The result is a multi-dimensional approach that sheds light on the dynamics of education, knowledge creation, social networking, innovation and new business development.

It has become a widely-recognized fact that entrepreneurs and information technology have become the backbone of the world economy. The increasing penetration of IT in society and in most of industries/businesses, as well as the joining forces of entrepreneurship and innovation in the economy, reinforce the need for a leading and authoritative research handbook to disseminate leading edge findings about entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of IT from an international perspective. Information Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation presents current studies on the nature, process and practice of entrepreneurship and innovation in the development, implementation, and application of information technology worldwide, as well as providing academics, entrepreneurs, managers, and practitioners with up-to-date, comprehensive, and rigorous research-based articles on the formation and implementation of effective strategies and business plans.

Entrepreneurship generally is about creative organizing but with social enterprising this is especially so. Most social ventures cross the boundaries between the private, the public and the non-profit/voluntary sectors. This broad involvement of actors and intertwining of sectors makes the label ÔsocietalÕ entrepreneurship appropriate. Stating the importance of both the local and the broader societal context, the book reports close-up studies from a variety of social ventures. Generic themes include positioning societal entrepreneurship against other images of collective entrepreneurship, critically penetrating its assumptions and practices and proposing ways of promoting societal entrepreneurship more widely. Providing a new conceptual framework and research methodology, this compendium will prove insightful for academic scholars. The basic concepts and illustrative cases/stories will also appeal to students and reflective practitioners.

Leading international scholars provide a timely reconsideration of how and why entrepreneurship matters for economic development, particularly in emerging and developing economies. The book critically dissects the evolving relationship between entrepreneurs and the state.

The book studies the interplay between open innovation and knowledge management issues in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With the proliferation of the open innovation paradigm and against the backdrop of increasing external knowledge transfer activities, knowledge management is more important than ever for innovation and firm performance of any type of organization. In fact, knowledge management is no longer a pure intra-organizational activity but constitutes a vital interface function between the organization and its external partners/stakeholders.Throughout the book, readers will obtain both a broad overview of the two main concepts namely open innovation and knowledge management and its interplay. In addition, research will be presented which will help the readers to develop and/or expand their understanding of the phenomenon. This broad approach can also support in broadening the mindset regarding the topic under investigation and its application. Thereby, this book will primarily focus on SMEs and their approach with respect to the interplay in question.In order to achieve the above-mentioned aim, the book consists of ten chapters that are assigned to three parts. Part 1 introduces to the main concepts, namely, SMEs, Open Innovation, Knowledge Management, and the interplay between open innovation and knowledge management in SMEs. This is followed by Part 2, which provides empirical research insights into the phenomenon of interest. The book concludes with Part 3 which addresses promising future avenues regarding the study of open innovation and knowledge management in SMEs. All the chapters are written by leading international researchers in the respective fields, which makes the book a unique piece of work.